Aspirin
Brand Names
Arthritis Pain, Aspir-Low, Bayer Aspirin, Bufferin, Ecotrin, Empirin, Fasprin, Genacote, Halfprin, ZorprinWhat is Aspirin
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic) is a salicylate drug reducing substances in the body that cause pain, fever and inflammation. It has an antiplatelet effect by inhibiting the production of thromboxane which binds platelet molecules together in order to create a patch over damaged walls of blood vessels. Aspirin helps to prevent heart attacks, strokes and blood clot formation in people at high risk of developing blood clots. It was discovered by Arthur Eichengrun, a chemist with the German company Bayer.
Side effects of Aspirin
Stop taking aspirin if you have any of these serious side effects:
- black, bloody or tarry stools
- coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds
- severe nausea, vomiting or stomach pain
- fever lasting longer than 3 days
- swelling or pain lasting longer than 10 days
- hearing problems, ringing in your ears
Indication
Aspirin is used to reduce pain and inflamation. There is a cyclooxygenase hormone in human body. It is involved in the releasing of prostaglandin, a paracrine or autocrine which mainly contributes to the transmittance of the pain from body to the brain. Aspirin can deactivate cyclooxygenase hormone therefore the production of prostaglandin is suppressed.
It is also used as antipyretic. Aspirin can dilate blood vessel near skin surface causing more blood to flow through the skin promoting heat loss by radiation or convection to the environment which will alleviate the body temperature and therefore reducing fever.
Precautions
You should not use this medicine if you have:
- a recent history of stomach or intestinal bleeding
- a bleeding disorder (hemophilia)
- an allergy to an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) such as Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Orudis, Indocin, Lodine, Voltaren, Toradol, Mobic, Relafen, Feldene and others
Aspirin should not be given to a child or teenager who has a fever, flu symptoms or chicken pox, because it can cause a serious and sometimes fatal condition called Reye's syndrome.
Dosage forms
Most aspirin tablets are available as standard size 325 mg tablets,as 81 mg doses (the old baby aspirin dosage) or as 75 mg doses more recently.
Aspirin dosage to stop platelets from clumping is 75mg-150mg or higher depending on situation. It stops platelets from clotting in the blood vessels as COX plays a part in producing thromboxane A-2. By stopping platelets from clotting in blood vessels aspirin helps prevent problems relating to heart and muscle, mainly heart attacks.
Aspirin dose to prevent fever or arthritis for adults is 4 times a day.
For the prevention of myocardial infarction in someone with documented or suspected coronary artery disease much lower doses are taken once daily.
Aspirin dose for children with Kawasaki disease is based on body weight, initially 4 times a day for up to 2 weeks and then at a lower dose once daily for a further 6-8 weeks.
